A/N: Story two, I've written, instead of what I was supposed to be doing. Very ashamed of myself. *sigh* But, um, tell me what you think?

Disclaimer: Lol, nope.

"Oh, that looks lovely on you Matsumoto-san! You've made a wonderful choice!" declared the salesgirl as Matsumoto Rangiku twisted and turned before the floor-length mirror in the fitting room. The turquoise kimono was made of purest silk, decorated with a scene of dancing cranes on a frozen lake, courting amidst falling flower petals and the lines of an old poem. The salesgirl had not been exaggerating either when she said that Rangiku looked wonderful in it, but then for what it cost she had to.

"You think so?" asked Rangiku, turning to look at the elaborate tie of the crimson and gold obi. She needed a coral, olive or cream haori, with matching shoes and by the time she had finished with the accessories she would have gone through at least three weeks' pay. But one could hardly fault a girl for wanting nice things. In the Rukongai she would have been lucky to have one good yukata.

"Yes, yes!" said the salesgirl with a broad grin. "And I have just the shoes! You'll be the envy of everyone when they see you in this. Oh, let me get the shoes!" She hurried away to the stockroom while Rangiku twirled in the kimono again, and then searched for the price tag.

"Don't worry about it. I'll get it for you," said someone.

"Eh, aah!" cried Rangiku, startled. She swung around already reaching for Haineko before remembering that she had set her down before she started changing and looked up to the intruder.

Captain Kuchiki Byakuya stood in the doorway to the fitting room, not in uniform but a dark grey kimono with coal-black haori so that it almost looked as if he was wearing one anyway. He continued, ignoring her surprise, "It suits you well."

Finally freeing her tongue, she asked, "Captain Kuchiki… what are you doing here?"

"I own this store," he replied, walking into the room to make a circuit of the platform on which she stood. She followed him with a furrowed brow until he said, "Don't." Then she forced herself not to fidget as he completed his inspection and said, "The haori should pick up the colours of the obi. I think they should have a coral one with crimson detail that becomes a cyan blue at the hem."

She tried not to stare at him like an idiot but it could not be helped. Thankfully she did not stutter as she asked, "Where did you learn so much about women's clothing?"

"There are more women in the Kuchiki family than Rukia, you know. And my wife was always very worried about how she looked…"

Rangiku imagined him sitting at his desk surrounded by hundreds of magazines and colour charts and anxious designers to choose a bathrobe and suppressed a giggle. Aloud, she said, "That so, I cannot let you buy this for me, despite the offer, thank you. This girl can take care of herself." If it were anyone else she would not have minded, and she had fantasised once or twice about ruffling his feathers, but he was not necessarily a man to be trifled with. Certainly not when he had the means of making you regret it and oh boy, did he.

Byakuya dismissed her protest with a turn of his head, looking towards the stockroom from which the salesgirl was now returning, and said, "Nonsense. It is no trouble to me. What have you brought to match this, Ogawa-san?"

"Kuchiki-sama!" squeaked the salesgirl, nearly dropping the bundle she carried. Then she gave a hasty bow and replied with a red face, "We did not know you were coming over today. Would you like some tea? I can-I can get you anything you like. You can call me Natsuki-san…"

Red as a beat and barely able to control the flow of words from her mouth, it was clear that the poor thing was thoroughly smitten.

"I happened to be walking by," he said, apparently oblivious to her blush. "Give her the coral. And the kanzashi with the trailing sakura detail."

"Oh, yes Kuchiki-sama!" Natsuki squeaked again, immediately setting aside the others and drawing out the haori he had spoken of.

Rangiku could only stand silently as the girl hastened to dress her according to Byakuya's instructions. It was a good thing too, because she needed some time to process what was happening. Surely she had dosed off and this was all a very crazy dream. There was no way Kuchiki Byakuya, the coldest and most arrogant man in the Seireitei, who also happened to be one of the wealthiest, most handsome and powerful was buying her a kimono. She could not remember the last time they had spoken to each other, and if such an exchange had occurred it was most likely connected to work.

Or perhaps he was the one who had fallen and hit his head.

"The coral shoes too," said Byakuya, as Natsuki arranged the haori over Rangiku's shoulders. He was right; it did match, as well as added a hefty sum to the ensemble. The kanzashi were ivory, accented with gold and silk flowers that trailed on either side of her head like a veil. The shoes were also silk, as well as the bag and the fan and parasol that had been added as an afterthought. But when Rangiku turned to check her reflection in the mirror, her breath caught in her throat. In all the years since she had begun amassing her wardrobe of fine clothes she had never assembled anything that looked as lovely as this. If they did not know her, anyone who saw her now would mistake her for a noble woman.

And that was the thought that brought her back to reality. She was no noble woman but a Rukongai street rat turned Gotei Thirteen Lieutenant. She was a soldier with responsibilities and very little free time or fancy parties to go to in something like this. She could not accept it. The kimono alone would be enough.

"Do not attempt to talk yourself out of it. I said that I was buying it for you. Are you going to refuse me?" asked Byakuya.

He must have been watching for her reaction and noticed when her face fell. She replied anyway, "I have no place to wear something like this."

"You were going to buy the kimono anyway," he pointed out.

"Yes, but, this… all of this… it's too much," she said, unable to stop herself from turning to watch the fall of the furisode's sleeves, the way that her eyes seemed that much brighter against the lighter tone of the fabric and the way the light caught on the gold accents of the kanzashi.

"If I'm not mistaken there is a festival here in a few days, presumably the same one for which you were buying this outfit. I cannot imagine a better place," he replied.

"I'm a lieutenant, not a noble woman," she said.

"You do not have to be a noble woman to wear this," he replied. "In fact, I recall that the outfit you wore to the last festival caused quite a stir as well. You have a good eye and fine taste, so why is there a problem now?" She made to protest again but he turned to Natsuki and said, "We'll take this one, but perhaps without the parasol."

"Yes, Kuchiki-sama! Right away, Kuchiki-sama!" said Natsuki, scurrying over to write up the bill.

He turned and left before Rangiku could protest again but she had already made up her mind to shut up and let him pay for it. It was not every day that a girl could say she got Kuchiki Byakuya to buy her something (well, as long as that girl was not Rukia). Who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth?

He was waiting for her outside the fitting room when she emerged with Natsuki and her new outfit, in fabric wrapped boxes which had been also wrapped in paper and secured together with a gold ribbon. So this was how the other side got their things. The plain paper boxes were for the ordinary people like her. But at least Natsuki had not asked about her and Byakuya's relationship. She had looked a little sorrowful as she greeted Rangiku again, now in the simpler, though only slightly less expensive yukata she had arrived in. But she pasted on a happy face for the captain, her boss technically, and said, "Here is your purchase, Kuchiki-sama. Is there anything else that you would like?"

"No, that will be all. Have them send it to Lieutenant Matsumoto's address," he replied, signing off the receipt. He did not even look at the girl and Rangiku felt her heart breaking for her. Not everyone had her boldness, but sometimes they just needed a little push.

"Say, Natsuki-chan, are you going to the festival?" she asked the girl.

"Oh, yes," said Natsuki, gaze firmly set on Byakuya as he handed over the receipt.

He turned to Rangiku and said, "Good day to you, Lieutenant."

Rangiku treated him to her brightest smile and then he turned to Natsuki, "And you too, Ogawa-san."

"Yes, a good day, Kuchiki-sama!" she squeaked, but he had already turned his back on his way out the door.

Rangiku waited until he was gone from view, and that she could no longer sense his reiatsu, to ask, "So how long have you been in love with him?"

The girl's eyes went comically wide and Rangiku grinned. "It's okay, I won't tell him. I'm surprised he even talked to me, to say nothing of buying my outfit. So, were you ever planning on telling him?"

Now the girl went pale, then grasped Rangiku by the arm and pleaded, "No! Never! You can never tell Kuchiki-sama about this! If he finds out… I could lose my job!"

Rangiku lifted an eyebrow at this but then decided that actually, okay, that was a possibility and said, "So you're going to pine after him forever?"

Natsuki released Rangiku's arm with an apologetic smile and said, "No, well my family's minor nobility and not all that wealthy but there have been rumours that the Kuchiki have been trying to get Kuchiki-sama to remarry."

Rangiku knew all about those rumours, considering that she had passed along a few of them. She asked, "So what, you're hoping that you can just drop your name in the hat for consideration?"

"Well I am of age," said Natsuki, embarrassed.

Rangiku just barely restrained herself from gathering the girl in her arms and giving her a reassuring hug. She settled instead for saying, "Oh but then you going to the festival is wonderful! You have your chance to get to know him better there."

Natsuki's embarrassment only deepened, her cheeks going as red as Rangiku's new obi and said, "That is what I hope… but there will be all those other women there and I work for him… I don't think he will notice me."

Now Rangiku had to hug her, and so she did and said, "You poor dear! But don't worry, I'm here and between the two of us I'm sure we can work out a plan to get you and the good captain together!"

In the safety of his office at the manor, Byakuya took a moment to reflect on what happened in the shop earlier with Rangiku and had to suppress a horrified shudder. So yes, purchasing the kimono for her had been a negligible expense on his part. And helping her accessorise it had been unnecessary since there was overwhelming evidence to suggest that she knew how to do that too. But the real problem was that he had done it at all.

Like most heterosexual men in the Gotei Thirteen, Byakuya had long realised and accepted that Matsumoto Rangiku was a beautiful woman who, if he ever got the opportunity, he would have no qualms about letting seduce him. The thing was, while she often flirted with anyone and everyone she encountered, man and woman alike, she never did that with him. Oh yes, she certainly spoke with a few of the other captains, Ukitake Jushiro and Captain Commander Kyouraku Shunsui to name a few, but not him. The last time they had spoken was when he had interrupted a discussion between her and her captain, Hitsugaya Toshiro, and all she had said to him was, "Oh, hello Captain Kuchiki. I'll leave you two alone."

So she had taken advantage of the moment to duck out on whatever it was that her captain was trying to get her to do, and she had a tendency to do that often, but Byakuya also knew her to be dedicated, skilled and loyal. She was practically his complete opposite: a shameless exhibitionist with a tendency to laziness, a penchant for drinking and an addiction to shopping. She barely managed her finances well enough to last through a week, based off of his calculations, and yet she was happy and carefree. It was a wonder that he fallen in love with her.

It was a cruel thing to happen to him, especially now where there were no threats to distract him save his family scheming to marry Rukia off to Kurosaki Ichigo. Not that he was going to allow that to happen, long-lost Shiba heir or no, there was simply no way he would ever refer to the boy as "Ichi-nii". So, yes, cruel, very much so, and what made it worse was that he was badly out of practice courting women and had no idea how to begin to court this one.

They did not frequent the same establishments, share any similar interests apart from purifying Hollows and other threats to the human world, which was work and therefore did not count, and again, she did not speak to him. But seeing her in that kimono in the store that day he was struck with the sudden vision of her in another, an heirloom bridal gown of white and silver. He had to help her after that, if only to distract himself from the insane idea. The family would be furious. Yet again he had chosen a Rukongai woman for a bride, though this one was a fellow Gotei Thirteen member and a lieutenant at that, but it was her origins that would count. And there was the other vision, the one that haunted his dreams of her where she would laugh in his face at the suggestion that he court her. But still…

He had decided quite some time now though that he would approach her, and the upcoming festival was the perfect place. They would be out of uniform in a relaxed setting. There would be sake, copious amounts of it, but he would find her before she started drinking. That brought the problem of separating her from the other lieutenants, particularly Ise Nanao, but he was sure that he could come up with something, or failing that get Rukia to help him. And when he had her alone, well, he hoped she would say something first or this would be the most awkward and embarrassing evening of his life. One would not think he was almost two hundred years old.

As Byakuya had thought, Rangiku was simply breath-taking in the moonlight and the gentle glow of the lanterns arranged around the Kuchiki Manor gardens for the festival. She seemed to float across the small bridge over the koi pond, arm-in-arm with Lieutenant Ise and more than a few heads turned to follow them. He refrained from doing so only because he was already looking at her approach, standing just at the entrance so that he could greet the guests as they arrived. As this was not customary for him, Rukia, resplendent in shades of dark red, orange and gold with a yellow gold obi, had sneaked more than a few questioning glances his way which he carefully ignored. Protocol required his presence so who was he to ignore that?

"Rukia-chan! Captain Kuchiki!" greeted Rangiku cheerfully, grinning from ear to ear when she finally stood with them. Lieutenant Ise, drab in comparison in a pink and navy blue kimono accented by a pink floral haori which looked suspiciously like the one the Captain Commander often wore, merely nodded.

"Hello, Matsumoto-san, Ise-san," said Rukia, smiling sedately in return, as was proper.

Rangiku frowned immediately, and waving an admonishing finger, said, "Now, now, Rukia-chan, we're friends and off-duty tonight; surely you can do better than that."

Rukia blushed, then ducked her head shyly and amended, "Rangiku-san, Ise-san."

"There, that's better," said Rangiku, grinning again, and then she turned to Byakuya and added, "And that goes for you as well, Captain. Thank you for having us, this place looks lovelier everyday!"

There was no way in hell he was going to call her "Rangiku-san" in front of all these people, some of who were family elders, so he replied, "Good evening, Matsumoto-san, Ise-san."

She sighed dramatically and said, "Well, I guess that's better than nothing. See you around." Then she moved away, dragging Lieutenant Ise with her.

He turned back from watching their departure to find Rukia staring at him with wide eyes. Caught, she averted them again, but said, "Nii-sama is something the matter?"

"Not at all," he replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," she said, cheeks growing redder. "If you keep staring at Matsumoto-san like that there are going to be questions. She didn't… do anything, did she?"

Now he turned his attention fully to his sister, completely ignoring the greeting just sent his way, and asked, "I can assure you that nothing untoward has happened between Matsumoto Rangiku and me. However, our paths did cross a few days ago while she was shopping for that very kimono. I was simply admiring the way she had chosen to put it together."

"Oh," said Rukia, though she did not look convinced. "Forgive me."

"It is nothing," he said, turning back to greeting the guests.

Five drinks, two platefuls of hors d'ouerves and quite a lot of gossip later, Rangiku finally found Natsuki sitting alone by a wall fidgeting nervously with the sleeve of her furisode. In her usual manner, she greeted her cheerfully, "Hi there, Natsuki-chan! I've been looking for you all over! How did it go?"

Natsuki looked up at her with red, puffy eyes and Rangiku got everything that she needed. She immediately settled herself unto the bench beside the girl and drew her into her arms, or rather, bosom. "Oh dear, dear, let it all out. I'm so sorry."

Natsuki cried, "Oh, Rangiku-san! I greeted him when I came in but he just ignored me, just turned around and started talking to Rukia-sama. It was like I was not even there."

Rangiku started patting her on the back, saying, "That Kuchiki! That is just like him! I have it in me to give him a piece of my mind!"

Natsuki flew out of her embrace at once, panicked and protesting, "No! No, Rangiku-san! You should not! I do not want to lose my job and he probably really did not see me!"

But Rangiku had already made up her mind and was on her feet and heading off towards where she felt Captain Kuchiki's reiatsu. Natsuki was left staring at her disappearing form with increasing horror. It did not take her long to find him either, as he had somehow managed to be everywhere she turned throughout the evening, just slipping out of sight as she caught him. And when he realised that she was heading straight for him, rather than giving the dismissive headshake she had been doing earlier, he took off again. Instead of running away though, he led her out of the gardens where the party was still going at full swing to another, smaller more private one where the sounds of merriment became a murmur. Then he stopped and said, "You seem very intent on something and I thought it best not to have you do it in a public place. What is the matter, Lieutenant Matsumoto?"

"Eh?" she asked, sounding very confused. Then a moment later, "Ah! Yes, Captain Kuchiki, you owe a friend of mine an apology!"

He turned to face her, marvelling again at the sight of her, even now that she was tipsy and her hair had begun to fall free of the kanzashi. Worse still, he could not help but think that her angry expression was, well, cute. He willed his voice to remain steady as he asked, "I'm afraid that I do not know what you are talking about. Have I done something to offend Lieutenant Ise?"

"No, not Nanao-chan, my other friend, Natsuki-chan!" she declared.

He lifted an eyebrow in surprise, and then asked, "Ogawa-san is here?" He had remained with Rukia until most of the guests had arrived and he was very sure that he had not seen Ogawa Natsuki. Perhaps the girl had arrived after he left? But no, she would have sought him out. Almost everyone else of his employees certainly had. Rangiku's expression at his response told him plainly that it was otherwise and that she believed that he had intentionally slighted the girl for some reason. He said, "I must have missed her then, but as host one can hardly expect that I shall be able to greet every guest that comes through the gates and see that the party itself goes as planned. I'm sure that Ogawa-san understands this."

But this was the wrong answer for Rangiku scoffed and said, "The poor dear was crying her eyes out because she came to see you and you ignored her! You have to go to her and apologise!"

He lifted both eyebrows now and said, "Absolutely not." Surely she was not asking him to apologise to another woman, to leave her side, after finally getting her alone for the first time in the entire evening and speak to another woman whose face he could barely recall after he turned his back to her? There was no way.

Rangiku's mouth had fallen open at his response, but she recovered quickly and snapped, "You must!"

"No," he said in his firmest tone.

True to character, she ignored this and said, "I know this might not matter to you, after all most of the women in the Seireitei are in love with you, but Natsuki-chan is a very sweet girl, smart and hard-working. She really likes you but she's just too shy to do anything about it and I just cannot stand the thought of her pining after you day after day. So you have to go back and apologise and make nice."

"No," he repeated and found himself wanting to smile at her as she gave this impassioned speech while looking as harmless as a hell butterfly. "If I tried to 'make nice' as you put it with all of the women who approach me like this, sweet and lovely all of them, I would never be able to do anything else. And you're one to talk, Matsumoto Rangiku, with all of the men in the Seireitei willing to do your bidding for a smile."

"Pshaw," she said, dismissing his response with a wave. "Not all of them, Yumichika, Ikkaku and I are sworn enemies, and Renji-kun only has eyes for Rukia-chan, same goes for Ichigo-kun. The Captain Commander would not dare because Nanao-chan would kill him, plus he's just teasing. Captain Ukitake is nice to everyone, and so is Captain Komammura. You… well you—"

"What about me?" he asked quietly, cutting her off before she could say something dismissive. He took a step towards her and she looked up at him, though it was not by much for she was merely three inches shorter than he. The difference was negligible though, and standing as they were rather complemented each other as he had chosen his navy kimono purposely to match hers.

Far from intimidated then, she said, "Well you… you're you. Honestly, I don't know what Ogawa-san thinks she sees in you. It's totally unfair that a man with such a pretty face should have such a mean attitude. I know you're being less of a bastard to Rukia-chan these days and she worships you, but you're still really horrible."

He chose to ignore what she was saying in favour of understanding that she was tipsy and venting frustration at not getting her way, apparently believing herself to be some kind of matchmaker. It did not make it hurt any less that the woman he had decided to fall in love with could barely find something pleasant about him. Or that she was trying to match him with another woman. However, a response to her accusations was necessary and so he said, "It is also unfair that one so beautiful should be so cruel, but I guess that is the nature of beautiful women."

Whoops. That was not what he was supposed to say. Thankfully she was still tipsy so instead of the shocked gasp he expected, she said, "Me? Cruel? What have I done?"

Looking her directly in the eyes, said, "You torment me."

This time she gasped, hands flying to her mouth and only then did he realise that they were now mere inches apart when her fingers brushed against his haori. He had drifted closer without noticing, so strong was his attraction to her. And instead of laughing in his face, her voice was filled with surprising anger when she demanded, "What are you playing at?"

There was no point trying to close the gate now, the horses were running wild, so he said, "I have become haunted by you, by the very sense of your existence so much so that I can barely sleep. Of course you did not know this because I have made no attempt to approach you. How could I when I am, as you said, 'mean'? If I told you how I felt you would, as you do now, think that it is a terrible joke. I can assure you though, Matsumoto Rangiku that I am not joking."

For a time she just stared at him, apparently too stunned to speak, and then she asked, "But… but how? How can you say…? We have barely ever spoken…"

"I know," he said, looking away, feeling very foolish and more than a little ashamed at this admission. "But I wish to speak to you more from now on."

She did not reply immediately, not that he expected her to but it stung still and he wished that he had never said a word. How strange this must be to her. How ridiculous he must look, like Lieutenant Hisagi Shuuhei who was firmly wrapped around her little finger and willing to do anything in his power to earn her favour. He would not stomach that. No, he had his pride, too much they often said and for that he would retreat to his lonely world in the shadows and try to pretend that she did not exist. Then she said, "But… how am I going to explain this to Natsuki-chan?"

Confused he allowed it to show on his face, brows furrowing, and in reply she said, "I-I came here to convince you to talk to her. She's in love with you…"

He almost did not want to believe that her first thought after hearing his confession was another woman's broken heart. She had broken many herself already and would probably keep at it until the day she died. Hopefully his would not join that number. He replied, "I'm sorry."

Rangiku gave him a sharp look then and said, "Did you just…" She stopped, shook her head and then said, "This… this is…"

Refusing to just stand by and let her reject him, he seized her hands and brought them to his lips for a soft kiss. She fell silent again, her eyes going wide and he said, "Do not ask me to consider another woman's offer. Either reject me now or tell me that you will consider it. I will not have my feelings played with—"

Suddenly furious, she pulled her hands from his and snapped, "'Played with'! Do you really think that I am that kind of woman? I can't be serious with Shuu-kun when I know the only reason he has any interest in me is because of my breasts. I'm not stupid!"

"I never said you were," said Byakuya, feeling his ire rising as well. "But do not pretend that you have not used others' affections to your advantage. I may be forgiven for being concerned that you may do the same to me."

She turned her back to him; hands folded across her chest and replied, "I would not. Unbelievable as it is I can see that you are sincere. I could never play games with someone like that." Then she spun back to him and said, "But you must understand that this is all a very big shock to me and that I need time to process it. So I can't answer you now… and-and I have to go find Ogawa-san…"

She made to do just that but he seized her arm and drew her back to him. He was convinced of his guess when she made a token attempt at protest, bracing herself against his chest with her palms, and then she looked up into his eyes. The kiss after that was inevitable. It also was too brief, abruptly ended by a startled gasp from somewhere beyond the gardens. It did not take either of them long to realise that the moment had been witnessed by Ogawa-san. Then Rangiku was out of his arms and running after the girl while he was forced to watch the way the moonlight shone against her kimono as she departed and remember the touch of her lips against his own. It was painful how much it reminded him of another time with stolen kisses in the shadows. But this time would be different; he would make sure of it.